Introduction to Cryptocurrency – CryptoCurrency Facts

Cryptocurrency facts takes a simplified look at digital currency like bitcoin to help everyone understand what it is, how it works, and its implications. On this site, we cover everything you need to know about:

As of 2017, cryptocurrency has been used as a decentralized alternative to traditional fiat currencies (which are usually backed by somecentral government)such asthe US dollar (USD).

For theaverage person using cryptocurrency is as easy as:

What is a cryptocurrency address?: A public address is a unique string of charactersused to receive cryptocurrency. Each public address has a matching private address that can be used to prove ownership of thepublic address. WithBitcoin the addressis called a Bitcoin address. Think of it like a unique email address that people can send currency to as opposed to emails.

The first decentralized digital cryptocurrency can be traced back to Bit Gold, which was worked on by Nick Szabo between 1998 and 2005. Bit gold is considered the first precursor to bitcoin. In 2008,Satoshi Nakamoto (an anonymousperson and/or group) released a paper detailing what would become Bitcoin.

Bitcoin became the first decentralized digital coin when it was created in 2008. Itthen went public in2009. As of 2017, Bitcoinis the most commonly known and used cryptocurrency (with other coins like Ethereum and Litecoin also being notable). Given thepopularity of Bitcoin as well asits history, the term altcoin is sometimes used to describe alternative cryptocurrenciesto bitcoin (especially coins with small market caps).

As of January 2015, there wereover 500different types of cryptocurrencies or altcoins for trade in online markets. However,only 10 of them had market capitalizations over $10 million.

As of September 2017, there were over 1,100 cryptocurrencies and thetotal market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies reached an all-time high surpassing $60 billion!

In other words, although the future is uncertain, cryptocurrency seems to be more than just a fad. Here in 2017 cryptocurrency is shaping up a growing market that (despite its pros and cons) is likely here for the long haul.

On this site, we explore every aspect of cryptocurrency. Simply choose a page from the menu,visitour what is cryptocurrency page for a more detailed explanation of cryptocurrency, or jump right in to the how cryptocurrency works section to start learning about transactions, mining, and public ledgers.